Texas Southern University (TSU), an historically black university, is legislatively designated as a special purpose institution for urban programming. TSU's mission is to academically prepare and develop diverse, predominantly African American students to enter a dynamic and changing world as upwardly mobile, productive citizens and to contribute to academe with scholarship, research, and outreach programs to the community. TSU has a distinguished history of educating and training large numbers of African Americans to provide competent and culturally sensitive health care to minority communities throughout the city of Houston, the state, the nation, and the world. Building on thriving academic, research, and training infrastructures, TSU is uniquely positioned and capable of producing competent and competitive health professionals and scientists to provide solutions to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and pulmonary diseases that cause a disproportionate incidence of morbidity and mortality in the African American population. The recruitment of an established research scientist will help TSU achieve the next level of biomedical research excellence by 1) expanding and strengthening its research capabilities, 2) providing opportunities for structured and supportive faculty development, 3) improving the science curriculum, and 4) providing quality biomedical research experiences for its students. Because of its location, reputation, resources, faculty, and improving research infrastructure, TSU has exceptional potential for training even larger numbers of health professionals to conduct quality biomedical and behavioral research through its academic, research, and training programs. Beneficiaries of these efforts include a core group of talented faculty investigators who have received training support from NHLBI and whose research careers will be enhanced by the proposed initiative. Additional beneficiaries include existing science faculty who desire to develop research capabilities consistent with the university's, NHLBI's, and ORMH's missions, students, and minority communities. A contemporary research infrastructure coupled with faculty possessing strong biomedical research backgrounds will impact positively on all program participants and constituencies. Future generations of scientists will be trained to engage in reducing the disparity in the health status of African Americans in the United States, especially relating to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, pulmonary, and related diseases and disorders.